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Further details were not immediately available. The Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to a telephone message or email from The Associated Press seeking comment Saturday.

Davis was serving a life sentence for human trafficking when he escaped from the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville on Wednesday.

Investigators determined Davis, who had been assigned to a work detail, hid inside a trailer used to haul furniture while he was working in the prison furniture plant and used a piece of furniture to conceal himself, Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Bob Horton wrote in a statement. He said the trailer left around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday for another prison industries facility in Montgomery.

Prison officials believe three other inmates helped Davis escape. Investigators are trying to determine how Davis got into the trailer unseen and why he was not reported missing until a security check at 8 p.m. Wednesday night.

The Alabama prison has been placed on lockdown during the investigation. One of Alabama's larger prisons, the lockup in St. Clair County has beds for 1,075 inmates, according to a statistical report from October. Inmate advocates have complained about problems at the prison including violence and security lapses.

The Alabama Department of Corrections said they are also investigating why the inmate was not reporting missing for nearly eight hours.

Davis was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 for two charges of human trafficking in Lauderdale County, records show.

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